New challenges for these three techs

Article Excerpt

For many years, these three technology firms have dominated their markets. However, rapidly changing consumer tastes and business trends have hurt their recent growth. Their strong brands and reputations will help them overcome these challenges, but their shares will probably continue to move sideways for some time. HEWLETT-PACKARD CO. $24 (New York symbol HPQ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $45.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.hp.com) is a leading maker of personal computers and printers. It also makes server computers and networking products for businesses. Demand for computers and printers, which account for half of Hewlett’s sales, continues to suffer as consumers shift to mobile devices. As a result, the company’s sales will likely fall to $111 billion in its 2013 fiscal year, which ends October 31, 2013, from $120.4 billion in 2012. However, Hewlett believes its sales will stabilize in 2014 and rise in 2015. Meanwhile,…